Seven Alachua County middle school students have been recognized by Duke University for earning outstanding scores on either the SAT or the ACT college entrance examinations.

The seven were among the top 1% of those who participated in the prestigious Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP), which recognizes seventh-graders throughout the southern United States with exceptional academic abilities. Their scores on the SAT or ACT exams place them among the top six to eight percent of high school juniors and seniors who take the test.

“We are so proud of the performance of these students,” said Superintendent Dan Boyd. “It’s amazing that in middle school they are already earning the kinds of scores that most high school students would be proud to have.”

Matthew Pearson of Howard Bishop Middle School, Davis Foote, Jennifer Li, David Liu and Alexander Song of Lincoln Middle, Sung Tae Lee of Ft. Clarke Middle and Hyungzin Lim of Kanapaha Middle School were among the students recognized as Grand Level winners in the Talent Identification Program. A special ceremony was held this week at Duke University to recognize the Grand Level award-winners. The ceremony is an annual event that celebrates the achievements of the highest scoring students in the TIP program. Each student earning Grand Level status will receive a medallion recognizing their achievement.

“I thought it would be a good way to gauge my skills,” said Liu. “Knowing that I did pretty well in a national competition makes me feel good.”

Even after earning scores that would be the envy of most students four or five years older than they are, the Grand Level students say taking the SAT in 7^th grade was a good way to practice the test so they can do even better when they hit high school.

“Now I know where I am and what I need to work on,” said Song.

“It taught me what subjects I’ll have to study more to get a good score,” said Li. “I’ll be better prepared when I take it later.”

About 66,000 students across 16 states participated in the Duke TIP program this year, but fewer than 1400 qualified for the grand recognition ceremony.  Through their participation in the program, many of the recognized students earn college scholarships and/or the opportunity to attend workshops and special courses at various university campuses.